Breaking the Mould
by bradhadair12
Summary: She couldn't sit back and watch people fall all around her for her sake. It was time she stepped up to the plate and took the wheel for herself, before they drove themselves to hell. Spirit Tracks.
1. Because I am a Princess

Because I am a Princess

I wrote this because there aren't enough Spirit Track fics out there. One of the good things about that game was how the princess wasn't as useless as usual. She was actually help! This was inspired by 'The Soldier Princess' by IFiWEREaROBOT. It's a really good fic, but so short! Anyway, this is still my story, so enjoy it. I'm also planning to write more chapters of this, including Zelda as a Phantom and Zelda when Malladus takes over her body.

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_Since I am The Princess, I'm divine and remote  
And you are too puny to be worthy of note,  
So, please do stop saying you think it's unfair,  
It upsets me, you know, and I mostly don't care._

_Oh, God made me special, and made you all poor.  
He mustn't be questioned, you deserve it, I'm sure.  
I am the Divine One, so what can I say?  
Y'all should feel honoured to bow and obey!_

Sometimes the truth can hit you so fast and hard that you have no choice but to let it bullet through your head and into your consciousness, settling down like a cancer. A disease without cure. Looking back you should've seen it coming, but you did nothing about it. You let it tear you apart. You tell yourself you had no choice.

This was one of those times.

Awakening to find yourself dead is the shock of a lifetime, or maybe the afterlife. It didn't really matter anymore. But to find your only hope lying in the calloused palms of a **train engineer** was possibly too much to handle.

Zelda was a princess, so it was a given that she was spoiled. My dress is dirty. Don't clean it! Make her a brand new one! This food is too hot. Don't leave it to cool! Make her the meal again, and quickly, before she dies of starvation!

Life was full of petty worries for Zelda. She had people to worry about the big things **for** her, so she fretted over smaller things. Manageable things. Things that wouldn't curse her with crow's feet in the years to come. While Chancellor Cole practically ran New Hyrule for her, she stood as tall as her childish body would allow her, which wasn't very tall at all.

That was another thing. She needed a growing potion, and **fast.**

Life had never been any different from that ever since she could remember. She was **sure** she could remember faintly the feel of an emery board scraping against her fingers when she was a baby. She had a nurse back then, nameless in her entirety, yet another mothball in the cupboard of life. She couldn't remember her mother.

Then she was old enough to walk, which also meant old enough to throw tantrums. Her toys weren't made to fit her exact size – a bit under average due to her strict diet – so she wouldn't play with **any** of her toys until they were all taken away and replaced with toys that were **better,** and by better, she meant exactly the same. Looking back, she hoped the toys she carelessly discarded were given to the needy, though she doubted that very much.

And then she became ten, and Chancellor Cole showed up. She **hated** him at first. How **dare** he steal her spotlight?! She would pout and whine, even at that age, demanding that she got her way and he was kicked out of the kingdom and forced to live on cucco seed.

Only this time, they wouldn't relent.

Zelda was still too young to rule over her own **playground,** yet alone a whole kingdom, they said. Cole would run the country until she was old and wise enough to rule herself, they said. Who were **they?** Probably the whole continent and their mothers, she figured.

And never once was she permitted to leave the castle. She might have had everything her heart desired within the stone walls, but having all that was like having nothing at all when she looked out the window and saw the Spirit Tracks sloping on for mile, carving up the land and dividing it, yet bringing it all together at the same time.

She had only **seen** trains. Princesses had their own private carriages, a technology that only her and Chancellor Cole had access to. It ran off its own engine, and wasn't bound to the tracks like the trains were. It was called an 'automobile'. Zelda called it 'boring'. And of course, trains were deemed too smelly and common to be within whiffing distance of the castle.

So when the new engineer arrived, she **fumed.**

He was her age, which struck a chord deep within her that she didn't know could chime like that. He was a commoner, with messy blond hair and blue eyes, and a slightly mismatched-looking suit. She was a princess, with perfectly coiffed locks and robes made of the finest silk imported from lands she'd never heard of.

But she was **jealous.**

He might have been the lowest of the low, but she envied him. She hated him, because he had what she didn't, and princesses **always** got whatever they wanted. And she wanted that train of his so she could run off and find a new castle with new servants that would let her have whatever she wanted, instead of what Chancellor Cole thought she wanted.

So, after reluctantly granting the boy – **demon,** should she say – his engineer qualification, she slipped him a note in with his certificate, and waited for the boy to come find her. There was no way that he wouldn't come – she was a **princess!** Who would pass up the chance to have a personal conference with the remote and beautiful princess Zelda? Not the boys who had already tried to win her hand, and **not** this little ragamuffin with **her** train. Well, it **should** be hers.

Waiting for the boy – Link she thought he was called – she took up the Spirit Flute which her great-whatever-grandmother Tetra had left in her possession and played. She always did whenever she was anxious. Something about its mellow tones calmed her nerves, and she'd need to be calm if she was going to make it past the door.

Link arrived, insisting he hadn't been seen. That was good. She was sure the kingdom would **love** the news that princess Zelda invited a **boy** into her throne room! She placed the Spirit Flute back on its pedestal (protected by a state-of-the-art security system, of course) and told the boy some nonsense about the Spirit Tracks disappearing.

It **was** true that they were vanishing all over the country, but there was **talk.** Talk about the fact that some bandits might be pulling them up and selling the metal for big wonga. She knew that **somebody** might have the arrogance to steal from something that kept the economy and indeed the whole kingdom up and running, but it wasn't likely.

She figured, as the princess, it was her duty to check it out. Even more so considering Chancellor Cole, in all his stuck-up priggishness, wasn't doing anything about it. It was **her** time to shine, and just try and stop her!

So together they snuck out of the castle and through the gardens, the blond boy distracting the guards while she hefted up the hem of her dress and snuck by. She was getting all dirty and she felt like she was sneaking around like a rat, but she supposed that if it got her to the train, then she would have to bear it.

Alfonso, the chief engineer after leaving the castle guard, was standing waiting for Link to appear, jumping in disbelief at the sight of the princess waltzing around with his protégé. Zelda simply batted her eyes at him and he agreed to help. He said he wanted to protect her, and it was just as well. Link looked like a clown in those clothes.

They boarded the train and were scot free!

Or so they thought.

For her first time on a train, it was a bit... shaky. The kid obviously didn't have as much experience as Alfonso, who should definitely have been driving if he didn't have to stare out the windows every three seconds looking for danger. She joined him several times; watching the country go by. It was much nicer down in the fields than stuck up in the highest room of the tallest tower during peak times.

She had only gotten a fairly short distance from town when the train suddenly started swerving violently. She clenched the seats with all her might, trying not to fall over, but to no avail. Both her and Alfonso ended up lying on their sides, plastered to the window, which was now facing the grass. She was going to demote that kid back down to poop scooper for that!

Pulling herself to her feet she tore out of the cabin to see that the tracks had disappeared. OK, so maybe it wasn't Link's fault. She could forgive and forget. After all, she **was** using **his** train. Speaking of which, he was sprawled out on the ground, his eyes rolling about dizzily. She suspected brain damage and a broken nose. Poor kid would never play the nose flute again.

She could've stared at the ground where the tracks used to be forever, but Alfonso had to ruin it by noting that the Tower of Spirits was in a state of flux. Ominous black clouds had gathered around the pinnacle, swirling around like murky water in a sinkhole. To her horror, the tower was ripped apart by unseen forces, malevolent as that octopus thing that was rumoured to terrorise the Great Sea.

**Now** they were gonna need a builder as well as a track maker.

It was unbelievable no one in the town had seen this! Where was the cavalry to evacuate the locals? And why hadn't anyone realised Zelda was gone and come to save her before she was kidnapped like every single other princess who loses her way?!

The black clouds that engulfed the sky spiralled down to the ground to reveal a phantom train, glowing with eerie black light, its horn screeching like a banshee. It dove down, barely missing the locks of Zelda's head. It felt like her brains were being sucked out while it was above her. It was no ordinary train, that's for sure.

Then Chancellor Cole appeared. She was hoping for a brave and gallant rescue, but he only revealed himself to be an evil demonic being in charge of everything that had gone wrong. Typical. Alfonso stepped in front of her to protect her, just like her promised he would. That is, until Cole's fiendish helper swatted him about like a fly. Followed by Link, who ended up unconscious a few feet away.

She was defenceless.

So when Cole attacked her with a ball of dark energy, she couldn't protect herself. She succumbed to the darkness and fell hard into the void. It was like sinking through water, the tendrils washing over her skin without sticking. She was impervious, and she could've floated there forever.

But what about Link and Alfonso? Never mind them, what about **herself?!** What happened? She kicked her arms and legs trying to fight against the current, but it didn't yield. She felt a tear leak from her eye as she was dragged further down. She was supposed to go on an adventure. Discover a new world. This wasn't what she had in mind.

But a princess never cries. A princess is always strong for her people.

She refused to give up like a wimp!

And with that she was free.

Not as free as she expected to be. She was lighter, like a passing gust of wind, and her voice was as soft. Her hands were see-through, and a bird flew straight through her. She figured she was dead, which made her want to sit down and start crying all over again, but she **promised!** She promised she wouldn't cry, so she **wouldn't.**

She just needed help.

After flying around trying to get help from the guards, only for them to see through her and her words to pass straight through them without leaving an imprint, she was ready to give up.

Until Link arrived again. He could** see** her. How on Earth did a little nobody like him manage that? She would've expected a shaman or a sage or something like that to perceive her deceased form, but this guy? Was she stuck with him **again?!**

Or Lord, she thought. Please let this all be worth it.


	2. Pushing Through the Pain

Pushing Through the Pain

This game is so hard. If you haven't played you you've got **no idea.** I had to start a new game because I was stuck and got sick of wandering around and dying, and then the mic on my DSi broke so I have to use my sisters and rant rant blah. Anyway, after I restarted the game, I felt inspired, which is always a good thing, so here ya go.

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_I am a Grand Princess, my heart is pure gold.  
I only think good thoughts, I'm precious, you know.  
It's my Royal Decree that I must get my way,  
And you should hand over your treasures, I say._

_Ah, the world is my oyster, yes, everything's mine.  
I don't want to hear of your hard work and time,  
'cause it just doesn't matter, I own all things by right.  
In fact I am claiming whatever's in sight._

She was dead.

She still couldn't believe it. **She,** Princess Zelda of New Hyrule, was **dead.** It was ironic, really. The second she finally steps foot out of the prison she called Hyrule Castle she gets her head practically blasted off. **Not** the way she planned for her little escapade to go.

She was **supposed** to ride that beautiful old train to the Tower of the Spirits, investigate the disappearance of the Spirit Tracks, prove to everyone that she was **more** than a figure head, and then go back a hero and kick Chancellor Cole out of the castle so hard he'd land in the Old Hyrule where her ancestors came from.

Instead she was floating about looking paler than her makeup would ever have allowed, flying straight through walls and doors and generally being held back in every possible way, and had to pretend that she was alright with that.

That was another thing. She wondered why Link could see her. She could understand that the Lokomos could see her, with them being like the Sages that used to guard the temples in Old Hyrule before the whole place was flooded, but **he** was just a boy. It didn't make sense that such an ordinary person could see spirits.

And he really was ordinary after all. Come on, he was an **engineer.** Nothing special, although she was taught that everyone had a special job to do that kept the county running smoothly, like the well-oiled cogs of a clock. He should have been driving that train of his around, delivering goods and passengers, instead of wielding a second-hand sword and hurling himself fearlessly into battle.

Zelda only envied him more. She missed the feeling of cool water sliding down her throat. She missed the taste of sweet nectar from the rare Hyoi Pear. She even missed the feel of the wind against her delicate skin like sandpaper when there was a storm. She was jealous because Link could** feel,** even if the things that he felt weren't what he wanted to feel.

Then, there was the rather perplexing issue of her body.

Of course, if the fairy tales regarding princesses were to be believed, then it was all in a day's work for her to be captured and for the hero to save her, but she thought that she would be kept **alive** for all that. She seriously doubted any of those princesses had died and then become a ghost. That would give those fairy tales a whole new sinister edge.

According to Anjean, an ancient Lokomo who Zelda and Link met when they **finally** got to the Tower of Spirits, the Demon King Malladus was going to possess her. I mean, **eww!** Zelda was a **Princess!** She was supposed to be beautiful and composed at all times. Having a demon running around in **her** body was just gross.

And, to top it all off, **she** was supposed to help. She was **dead,** therefore even more helpless than she expected to be. Link should've been running around trying to save her while she prayed for his safe return, hair clean and shining and fingernails dirt-free. Instead she was going to run around **with** him. Well, **fly** around.

Then, when Link was surely about to die, she protected him without even trying. For the first time she'd done something without someone telling her it was the right thing to do. She hurled her ethereal body at the Phantom and forced it into submission. That alone made her feel more powerful than she'd ever felt before.

And now she could finally do something. She didn't have to try and grasp Link every time he stumbled, only to see her hands slide straight though his back like she wasn't there. With a swing of her sword she could cut down any enemy that dared go within swinging distance with her, or carry Link across lava and through spikes without hesitating.

And they got a new train out of it too. You had to let the old train have a seizure before it would start working. Zelda wondered if the ruins of that train were still strewn across the countryside, gathering dust and rust and pests. She almost felt sad for it, before she realised she was feeling sympathy for inanimate objects. Being a ghost must've addled her brains.

The Spirit Train was a work of art. It never creaked or groaned. It was painted with paint that never chipped or peeled. It could withstand any weather without complaint. No wonder the spirits used it to get around. That sure was a really innovative use for the shackles that bind Malladus into the Tower of Spirits. Well, bind him for the moment.

He had her body.

And she was coming at him to get it back.


	3. The Bonds of the Flesh

The Bonds of the Flesh

I accidently blew up the Spirit Train yesterday DX Oh, the shame. At least **some** good came from it, seeing as it made me write this chapter. I know people are probably gonna throw a fit when they see what I wrote about Link's parents, but I dare to be different and I'm sure we've all wondered why he lives with an old dude. And I'm also sorry about how I keep jumping around through thoughts with practically no structure, but I really just write as my mind spews out ideas. And don't even bother about complaining about the references to OoT and the Triforce. It's my story and I'll do what I like, so there.

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_A Princess sat in a ship, ready to sail.  
Eyes filled with dreams,  
And with a heart so clean,  
Ready for the journey that can now be seen._

_She saw the beautiful sky above.__  
__Everywhere she could feel the love.__  
__Being in the fresh air,__  
__Felt that the heaven was there._

The conditions of the Spirit Tracks had really gone to pot.

She remembered the way they used to be. People said the tracks always shone as if newly polished, and if you looked closely and for long enough, you could see golden light moving within the metal, traversing the path between the temples and the Tower of Spirits and renewing the bonds that used to keep Malladus under control. They never needed repairing. They weathered every storm and the weight of thousands of trains.

They were what had drawn Zelda to trains in the first place. She wanted to see if the rumours were true **herself,** because she didn't trust her informants enough. She felt that the metal would probably sing under her hand, especially the one bearing the Triforce of Wisdom. She wanted to experience such a phenomenon by her own hand, instead of by the hand of someone else.

Now, they were dull and lifeless, looking like no more than well-made slabs of steel. Few trains used them anymore: the danger of attacks being too great. The only things she ever saw on the Spirit Tracks any more were the Spirit Train, Bomb Trains and monsters. A cruel mix, if she said so herself.

She marvelled at the fact that she had never seen Link show fear when driving the train. He was handling a hand-made piece of machinery, crafted by the gods themselves, through dangerous land and harsh weather and uncharted territory. Zelda would be too scared to even **touch** it – if she could ever touch it at all – yet the thought didn't seem to bother Link.

She wondered if he just didn't care, but his personality refuted all claims that he felt no remorse at trashing it. If he felt guilty at wrecking the piece of junk that his old train was, then he'd probably kill himself at the shame of damaging **this** one. Zelda smirked at the thought of Link trying to tell Anjean he'd slipped and blown the sacred locomotive up.

Then she started wondering if he just wasn't afraid at all. She'd watched him charge fearlessly into battle with monsters several times the size of him; all of which were stronger, faster, better equipped, and better trained in the art of combat. **He** was a train engineer swinging a sword around like a dead cat. She wanted to slap some sense into him so many times, if only she would stop sliding through him like a warm knife through butter.

She knew of the qualities of the Triforce. She even carried a piece herself. The Triforce of Wisdom, which allowed her to see what other people didn't see, and to think in ways other people wouldn't think, and she **knew** that planning an attack would mean that Link came back with fewer cuts and bruises and... dislocated joints, once or twice.

Then there was the Triforce of Power; which allowed the wielder to command great strength and respect. Not much was known about it. It was supposedly under the sea, still trapped within the body of its last wielder who went insane, unable to control the power it gave him. The story made her shudder. She almost knew how that felt – sometimes she felt like she was too smart for her own good.

And finally: the Triforce of Courage – possibly the most sacred of all three. According to old legends, dredged up from the abyss of ignorance decades ago, it was wielded by the legendary Hero of Time himself, and the Hero of Winds after that. It stopped you from worrying about making stupid decisions. Zelda thought it seemed like a bit of a dud.

She was starting to suspect Link had something to do with it. It was just theory, of course, seeing as there was no mark on his left hand to prove it. She'd seen portraits of the Hero of Time, or what was **supposed** to be him, and she'd be damned if someone said Link didn't look like him. Zelda knew that the uniform of the castle guards was the same as that worn of the Hero of Winds as a tribute to him, and Link wearing it just made fate sound like a broken record.

Well, Zelda wasn't a common name, either.

Every first girl born into a generation in the royal family was named Zelda after the very first princess Zelda of Hyrule, sage of whichever one she was – she forgot. They'd lost count of how many Zelda's there had been before her birth, so they gave up, and her name and title came without a number. She was almost relieved. It felt a lot like a bar code.

Link was a **very** uncommon name, even more so than Zelda: a name given only to one person every generation. The Hero of Wind, one of the founders of New Hyrule, bore that name and it possessed too much esteem and power and grace and every other quality of a hero to be given to any normal person. She wondered what on earth Link's parents were thinking calling him that.

Zelda pondered on Link's parents a lot, though she never told him. He'd never mentioned them, but then again, Link never said much to start with. Zelda wondered what had happened to them, or where they were. What did they look like? Why didn't Link live with them? Did he have his mother's eyes, or his father's nose, or maybe his grandfather's hair? ... Were they responsible for Link's near silence?

She knew she'd probably never get any answers.

Link didn't live with his folks. He lived with an old man, but not just **any** old man: he lived with THE Niko! One of the brave sailors (though she thought she read somewhere that they were actually pirates) who had discovered New Hyrule and lay down the foundations for everything that existed now! He was practically a celebrity, though he refused any acclaim, stating that it was all his friends' doing and he was perfectly fine living a quiet life in Aboda Village, thank you.

Zelda remembered the last time they'd been to see him. He'd given Link a stamp book to occupy him on his way, and they'd returned to show him how many he'd found from all across New Hyrule. Niko gave him an old shield in return, supposedly one he'd been given by his old friend: the Hero of Winds. He'd commented on how good he looking wielding it and shooed the boy on his way, but Zelda didn't miss the sparkle of pride and sadness at the image of his roomy, nor did she miss the pictographs of Niko with a boy who was the spitting image of Link packed away in a cardboard box, out of sight of anyone who couldn't fly or pass through shelves.

The question of Link's parentage bugged Zelda so much she actually ditched him on a visit to Castle Town and raided the records of all the citizens in New Hyrule. Someone along the line had gotten paranoid and ordered a census of everyone who existed or used to exist. She was never more thankful for it than at that moment, until her heart dropped into her stomach.

There were no legal documents of Link's parents, but there **was** one of **him,** seeing how he had such an important job. It said he'd been taken from them. She gulped – unsure of what to think of that. She had visions of abuse or rape or insanity or any number of terrible things. What made it worse was the fact that she couldn't ask him directly, because he'd get upset. Wounds like that bleed for the rest of your life.

Time doesn't always heal wounds. Sometimes it only puts a bandage on them.

However, Zelda found herself detesting Link less and less through time. She realised that there wasn't much about him to hate: he was kind and gentle and **fiercely **loyal, and when coupled with his innocence – if he had any left – made him a naïve idiot. She could hate him because she couldn't find anything to hate; hate him because he was perfect; but she decided to rise above her hatred and get over it. She had more important things to do.

She even started admiring him, though she would never tell him that. There **she **was – dead – and there **he** was risking his life endlessly for a girl he hardly knew for no profit and with no days off. Except for once when he'd stopped to relax in the hot spring near the Goron's village. She'd nagged him that her body could be close to being possessed by a **man** while he was lying around, but then she saw how many scars and wounds littered his skin, and she let him alone to rest while she sulked on the Spirit Train.

He did strange things to people – that kid. He made the Gorons get over their distrust of humans. He made the Anouki get over their distrust of each other. And he was making Zelda get over her distrust of herself. She discovered that she didn't want to be a princess anymore. She wanted to take to the seas like her ancestors had done and wear pants for once and drink rum and frighten the hell out of anyone who came near her and her band of scurvy-dogs.

She wanted to be anyone but herself, but she didn't know how.

She needed Link to show her how.


	4. Through the Looking Glass

Through the Looking Glass

Finally, goddamn Malladus time! I thought I'd get more chapters in before I mentioned him but I've been charging through stuff so fast, having already mentioned the Gorons, so I just did it. No, I am **not** this far in the game yet, so it's probably all wrong, but that's why it's fan **fiction.** Not fan **non-fiction. **Actually, could you imagine that? How badly would that suck?!

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_Mirror, mirror, on the wall,  
Can't you show me tall and slim?  
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,  
Must I look so bloody grim?_

_Mirror, mirror, on the wall,  
Pointless asking 'Who's the fairest-?'  
More bloody likely, 'Who's the queerest?'  
Now look, I paid a big bucks for thee,  
So why can't you be nice to me?_

Link had odd ways of expressing himself.

Most of the time his face wore a blank expression like a marble statue. Whether it was pondering over a puzzle, only to realise that the item he needed was three floors down, or listening to the woes of a desperate villager. Zelda was never quite sure what he was thinking when he did that. She couldn't help but wonder why he buried his emotions so deep down, until she realised that slaughtering hundreds of monsters that wanted his blood splattered across the walls could disturb someone barely into puberty.

His face would sometimes betray a sadness that made her ethereal figure shiver. He looked like that a lot whenever he visited Aboda Village, and she was reminded of the absence of his parents. She couldn't even offer a hand on the shoulder for support – she slipped straight through him every time.

And sometimes he'd look truly peaceful, especially after playing a song. She'd never seen someone master an instrument that had taken her several years to get to a beginner's level in a matter of days. Link played it like a maestro, and she was jealous, once. Then she got over it and just let herself enjoy his playing. Music in the spirit realm was more than sound – it was smell and taste and colour and a living entity. She'd miss that when she was alive.

Pride was an often addition to his eyes – whenever he'd cracked a difficult puzzle and bested the mind of the person who'd invented it, or collected a new item, or got from A to B on the Spirit Train without getting blown into next month. His eyes would shine with confidence and courage, and she stopped doubting that he was anything but a true hero. Until he rolled into a wall by accident. Again.

But, out of all the expressions she'd seen his face hold, she favoured happiness most. His smiles seemed as rare as the Regal Rings, but shone with brilliance whenever they graced her presence. They only ever seemed to appear around Zelda – they were friends, weren't they? People always smile around friends, because they make each other happy! Well, he made **her** happy, anyway.

She couldn't imagine a life without the green engineer anymore. He was the only reason she felt like she had a purpose, even though she had the inexplicable problem of being deceased. She was finally doing something to help New Hyrule, instead of Cole doing everything for her. She felt like more of a princess than the castle and the clothes and the title had ever made her.

And she hadn't done anything for him.

Link never asked for anything in return. He was polite and modest and kind and never refused to help someone. He was talented and a hard worker and had lots of connections in nearly all of the realms. He didn't need a dead princess tailing after him, even if she was suited in armour and carrying a sword several times bigger than him.

Yet, he let her come with him. She was thankful for **that,** at least.

She wondered why Link even bothered to do all this. None of this was his problem, or even his concern. He was only an engineer, even if he was the royal engineer. His hands were supposed to be clasped around the gear box of a train all day long, not the metal handle of a sword. Yet he handled the weapon more confidently than the vehicle. Zelda got the impression he'd rather be fighting than driving any day of the week.

That was the thing. She'd rarely seen him get angry before. Irritated – especially at that moron Linebeck III – often. Confused, dot com. Angry? ... Maybe once. It wasn't a common occurrence, thankfully. Link's emotions didn't tend to run deep enough or for long enough for irritance to become anger or something more. Most people had been spared the fury of the edge of his sword. The castle guard didn't have toy weapons, after all.

One of the few times was when they'd carved their way through the hordes of monsters and Phantoms to reach the very apex of the Tower of Spirits. Byrne, the freak who'd nearly hospitalized Alfonso, got in their way. This time, luckily, they were heavily armed and vengeful. Zelda was once more glad to be of use to Link as her nearly indestructible body shielded Link's not-so-indestructible body from the attacks he dealt.

He finally figured out that he wasn't going to get to the boy without shifting his guardian and retreated to build up an attack. Of course, neither of them knew what was going on until his gauntlet flew off with all the force of a sledgehammer and sent Zelda flying into the fence that framed the impromptu arena.

She'd got back up just fine, having a giant suit of armour to shield her from most of his attacks, but once she'd gotten him to the ground Link's blow fell a lot harder and faster than they had before. It was over a lot quicker than even Byrne had imagined. Link seemed to glow with a power that hadn't been there before. Zelda realised she was frightened. Of him, or for him?

The fresh, cool air of the heavens was a great relief to Zelda's lungs. It was a massive difference from the stale and musty air of the Tower of Spirits. The two stepped outside onto a balcony, from which she could see the whole of New Hyrule. Even the castle didn't have a tower as high as this. She made a mental note to have one built once she was corporeal again.

As they ascended the stairs the air changed noticeably. It almost became **thicker** like smog, though the visibility remained crystal clear. The black clouds that had been hovering over the top of the tower ever since Cole had shown his ugly mug squatted ominously around the spire. Zelda would have gulped if she had anything to swallow.

Link shivered. For once she was glad of the warmth her armour gave her.

And who was at the top but none other than Byrne, who was very much not defeated in an epic battle. He held himself like he was wounded. Considering the beating that Link gave him, she wasn't particularly surprised. Or compassionate. Her back was still throbbing from her rough landing. He shuffled forward and out of view – Link and Zelda were still lower down and out of sight.

She could hear Cole saying something about being disappointed. Too right: Byrne was a pushover at best. The air began to crackle fiercely with energy; **dark** energy that made Zelda feel sick to the bone. She and Link charged up the last of the stairs in time to see her body disappear within a raging tornado of pure darkness.

They were too late.

It was all she could do to watch the vortex be thrown off by her now-possessed body, standing helplessly beside her friend who'd done all this for absolutely nothing. And her **eyes. **Like something out of a horror movie. Red where there was white, and yellow where there was blue, like a feral animal. She didn't know whether to be scared, or angry. Maybe both. It was like looking at herself through a looking glass, only her reflection was warped beyond recognition.

Needing to be helpful in some way, she stepped in front of Link in case Malladus **dared** to attack him while she was still around. Instead, she – well, **he** – went for Byrne, tossing him aside like a ragdoll. Visions of the same happening to Link flooded her mind and made tears prick at the sides of her eyes. She was thankful there was a helmet there to block out her face.

It was all too much.

And then Cole taunted him, and even **she** felt a slight pang of pity for the downed man. She knew how it felt to be helpless, your hopes thrown back in your face. After all, Byrne was the one who threw them at her in the first place. Watching the former Chancellor dance around like a lunatic made her think that Malladus would probably treat him to the same present he'd given Byrne once he wasn't of any use. It was annoying just to look at him.

Her fears began to come true when Malladus fixed his glowing eyes on the Phantom that stood in his way. Zelda felt her joints lock into place under the icy glare of the Demon King, and couldn't even lift an arm to protect herself. Malladus raised one arm to summon some form of evil magic to decapitate her and leave Link to his mercy, or lack of, but then stopped.

Something was wrong. The energy that was supposed to kill her turned upon its owner, coursing through his body and making him double over with pain. She felt a similar pain in her stomach, but weaker. Her spirit still felt what her body was feeling, even after being apart for so long. A surge of hope for her revival freed her from his spell, though she no longer had to protect herself. The Demon King had already KO'd himself.

Cole explained to the struggling King that his body was unfamiliar to him, and he needed time to adjust. What luck! The air, which had been so heavy before, suddenly started surging in all directions as a looming train rose up from behind the tower. It was the same train that had appeared when she'd died – she could never forget something so evil and frightening.

Malladus in **her** body and Cole fled onto the train, which didn't even need rails to move. And it was bigger than the Spirit Train. Crud. It sped off into the distance, taking the atmosphere of apprehension with it. Zelda almost breathed a sigh of relief, until she realised most of her hopes of getting her body back had left with it.

Anjean appeared behind her, somehow getting up all those stairs on a pair of wheels, and was not dead. Good – Zelda didn't like being dead, and she didn't want anyone else to have to experience it within the next several years or so. Not even Byrne, who had passed out sometime after being booted around like a preschooler. He looked pretty pathetic, and she couldn't ignore the fact that he needed medical help. Good thing there was a first aid kit on the train.

She carried the unconscious man down the flights of steps to the bottom before shrugging off the shell of the Phantom. Link and Anjean took his weight until they were able to place him on the seats in the passenger carriage. They still hadn't had the windows replaced after the pirate attack in the Ocean Realm, but at least Link had swept the glass up.

And while they were in the refuge of the train Anjean told them of the Bow of Light, and Zelda's hopes were rekindled again.


	5. I Feel Worthy

I Feel Worthy

Guess who completed Spirit Tracks! And it only took me a whole fricking **YEAR! **There isn't much plot going on here, but who needs the plot when you can have introspective development! Oh, and I've now officially left school, so I'm gonna try and make an effort to write instead of sitting around eating chimichangas like I have been for the past few weeks. And yes, the title's a somewhat parody of that song from West Side Story. Man, I hate that musical.

Oh, if anyone can tell me if telling Zelda you want to be a warrior or an engineer does anything except disappoint her and ruin her opinion of you, tell me please!

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_Today I found a friend,  
Who knew everything I felt.  
He knew my every weakness,  
And the problems I've been dealt._

_He understood my wonders,  
And listened to my dreams.  
He listened to how I felt about life and love,  
And knew what it all means._

Zelda wondered what Link was afraid of.

She knew all too well what made **her** run around in circles shrieking her head off. Mice, with their worm-like tails and large, gnawing teeth; bugs, with their buzzing and fuzziness; she wasn't too fond of heights either. She had been so protected and **smothered** from the second she emerged into the world that mice and bugs and heights and anything she hadn't been made to witness and rise above sent her running for the hills.

Link had never gone running for the hills, **ever. **In fact, it was often quite the opposite – he had a nasty habit of running straight into the nearest death threat with little more than a potion and a sword. The fact that the sword was sacred and evil-smiting made no difference.

And just because he very possibly had the Triforce of Courage didn't mean he could be the brave and valiant hero all the time. He was allowed to laugh, and cry, and take vacations, even if he didn't think he could. He was even allowed to be scared, but that rarely happened.

Except when she was around.

The hidden dungeon beneath the altar was very dark. The kind of penetrating dark where you imagine monsters and aliens hiding in the corners of your vision waiting to tear your skin of and wear it as a hat. And in the dark, Zelda's eyes glowed. Well, the eyes of the Phantom she was possessing glowed, but the technicality is lost when you're tired and hungry and **lonely,** even though someone is walking right next to you.

Of course, neither of them had noticed her eyes were glowing. Link was normally ahead of her leading the way by the noise of his light footsteps on the beaten tiles, and Zelda couldn't see her own face in a place with no mirrors or water – she was thirsty, too. So when Link turned to her to give her orders she was shocked when he screamed and fell over backwards, alerting every single doggone Phantom in the place that they were having a tea party just around the corner.

Zelda reckoned that wandering around a dark and claustrophobic dungeon for several hours, only to be greeting with two dots of bright pink light in her face would also be enough to send her into a mini-coma, but it still hurt. She was supposed to be elegant and graceful and **desirable;** not butt ugly and frightening. All the more reason to get her body back.

And then what?

Theoretically, she'd go back to the castle, have a feast for her return, and then start ruling New Hyrule on her own two scrawny legs. In her mind, she was more likely to run away with Link and live a long and happy life in the freedom of the countryside. In actuality, she'd probably marry someone she didn't love, have children she wasn't ready for, and spend every day locked in a tower where she was needed the least.

Life as a monarch wouldn't be so great without someone there with her to liven the grey masonry and windy turrets up. She had once been content with having servants and adoring subjects, but now she wanted friends. Friends like Link, who didn't judge or worship her, or smell suspiciously like manure and porridge like those farmers.

But Link wouldn't even make a very good ruler of a Lego castle, let alone a **real **one. He was someone who you could look up to, and someone who the people would trust, but when it would come down to duties he'd be out the door with his sword swinging around his head like a gibbon in no time. As much as she'd grown to detest the idea, he would be no good in a place where you couldn't even slurp out of your spoon for fear of eternal dishonour.

Zelda didn't want to see him unhappy ever again, and she got the impression that once this was all over, she'd never see him again. Once she'd assumed the throne she'd be tied to the castle by a chain made of wrought iron and concrete, and that wasn't where he'd be at his best. Surrounded by the aristocracy and nobles, he'd look like a peasant in a stupid hat.

He was also a pretty poor swimmer for someone who'd been underwater on an enchanted steam train. It was pretty funny watching him splash around helplessly the first time he fell in, but when he sank she started to worry for his safety. She was going to have to get him lessons once she had a pulse and access to her vast fortunes again. She was sure the taxpayers would **love** to pay for Link's inability to stay afloat.

Zelda also noticed how resourceful he was. He'd come this far, so he wasn't that bad, but the new dungeon really showed it off. He'd managed to manipulate the abilities of the Phantoms to carve a path through the dark. It just showed how much he'd learned about them from being chased around with them hot on his tail. Oh, she helped too, of course.

Never in forever and a day would she have suspected those monsters could have been useful as anything more than scary doors props, but here they were. She could hardly believe that the presence of a mere spirit could transform them from raging beasts into slightly timid and very pink allies. More than once had she forced control over them, only to find herself with her sword inches from Link's scalp. He needed a hair cut anyway.

It was like this dungeon had been designed specifically to annoy and frustrate them both, which wasn't that farfetched to be honest. Running into walls or off the edges of pits while trying to escape from a rampaging suit of armour only made her miss her body more. Being a Phantom was awesome at first, but she could see the rust now she was close up.

She moved too slowly. Link had to keep a slow march so they didn't get split up. She was too big and kept getting stuck on corners. It was awfully hard to see little Link from her now towering height, and had almost trampled him underfoot several times. Then there was the added disadvantage of being very smelly. She'd have thought the Phantoms would've at least Febrezed their armour every now and then.

But the end was in sight, so it wasn't much longer.

She could bear the awful bodies for a bit further if it meant she could finally feel the wind and rain again. She was also craving for a big slice of pie, too, which Link could have some of too. He deserved some pie after all this. Heck, he deserved a lot more, but he was so modest and full of humility that he'd probably turn down the pie, let alone a holiday named after him.

Zelda wondered what he life would've been like without him. Obviously, the world would've gone to hell on the back of Malladus and Cole, but even if that **hadn't** happened. Would she have ever found anyone that brightened her day? Would anyone have appeared to make her throw off the stereotype she was gladly hiding behind and grow into a person with feelings and dreams? Probably not.

She was more in debt to him that he could ever imagine.

But there wasn't much a dead person could do except push daisies. She'd floated along besides him for the entire journey – except when she replaced whisper-quiet drifting with ground-shaking stomps – and done a fraction of the thankless work Link had been forced to undertake. Even holding the Compass of Light in his hands would receive praise or recognition from no one.

The object cast such a light that was almost tangible. Link probably couldn't feel as much as she could, and to her it felt like she could twist it around her limbs are call it jewellery. But, the closer you get to the light the bigger your shadow becomes, and Link's shadow was covering half the room. Zelda decided he needed her to protect him from himself, and that was that.

She had to be worthy of herself before she could be worthy of someone else.


	6. A Dish Best Served Cold

A Dish Best Served Cold

Why haven't I written anything lately? Maybe I just bought me a whole bunch of games. Maybe that painting I did took up most of my time. Whatever the case, I was PROCRASTINATING! You heard me! Well, it's here, along with the battle against the Demon Train. I decided to stop the chapter when I did because of the fact that the ending can change depending on a decision you make in the next scene. Thanks to you guys for telling me!

So, I'm letting you, my faithful readers, decide on the outcome. Tell me in your review what ending you want – engineer, warrior, or my personal favourite, YEAH, BUT NO, BUT YEAH, BUT NO, BUT YEAH! Otherwise known as 'I dunno'.

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_I was angry with my friend:  
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.  
I was angry with my foe;  
I told it not, my wrath did grow._

_And it grew both day and night,  
Till it bore an apple bright;  
And my foe beheld it shine,  
And he knew that it was mine._

Well, crud.

She would have to be blind, deaf and buried underground not to notice the raging clouds of death hanging over the forest like a bad odour. Zelda could've **sworn** that hadn't been there before. Where were all these black clouds coming from; Satan's U-bend? She could feel the malevolent and cancerous presence from halfway across the Forest Realm, and she was sure glad there weren't heading straight for it or anything crazy like that.

Oh, wait.

Link had a face on like he wasn't bothered, but Zelda knew better by know. You may fool all the people some of the time; or some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all the time, and she could see that he was shaking in his boots – literally, even – and his grip on the gearbox was turning his knuckles a shade of white. It was a pity there weren't any rabbits left, or any stamps left, or any tracks left, or they could've pretended that swirling mass of doom was just a smudge on the visor and gone about their happy business while the townsfolk would no doubt remain completely oblivious.

But no; they had a demon king to stomp on.

Now that the opportunity to regain her pulse was drawing closer, Zelda was just getting more and more frightened. Anjean had said that she might not be able to return, that she might be stuck as an ethereal entity for eternity. Link might not think about or prepare for the worst-case scenario, but she fretted over it until she was sure she'd be having nightmares about it if the dead could actually sleep.

She didn't stop him careering towards undeniable peril like a crazed bull, though. As frightening as this was, she knew she had to step up to the challenge before Malladus adjusted to her body and could destroy the newly formed Spirit Tower by sneezing on it. The whole country was relying on them, even if they didn't know it. She and Link would bear that knowledge for them for the sake of mass panic, and possibly because he loved every single one of them.

Zelda would never have imagined that she'd ever meet anyone who cared so much for random, nameless strangers. Her court was filled of backstabbing, conniving men who were too busy with fighting over the right to wear the largest hat to feel compassion towards those who they deemed 'below them'. She was probably the same, although meeting those 'below her' had shown that, really, she was below them.

Here were people who worked for their right to live. People who cared enough about the person next door to halve a day's worth of timber, or to share a few pots of soup when times were hard. People who knew what it meant to hurt, and who were stronger for it. People like Link, and Alfonso, and Niko, and the small army of genuine, hard-working, **kind** people that populated her domain.

She didn't want to be a princess anymore. She wanted to be **Queen.**

It's what those people deserved.

Zelda had learned that, if you want peace, you must first understand war, and if this wasn't war, then Link wasn't a hero, or steak and kidney pie shouldn't be against the law. In war, things break, but the spirit of the people does not. The people had been brave and true and had made the most of it. The council had probably fled and were now cowering in their cellars with bottles of wine and copies of the 'The Guardian.'

Those nobles with their hats could take a hike. Struggling against the constant threat of the apocalypse had strengthened her beyond their interference. She might have only been a child, but she was going to climb into that throne by **herself **and never let go until she was old and weak and unable to make a fist strong enough to clasp the marble armrests.

Then again, this is no more of a war than there is a war between men and maggots, or dragons and wolves, or men riding dragons throwing wolves at maggots. More like extermination.

Link didn't head towards his demise straight away. He stopped off at Aboda Village first for a tea party and to organise his sock drawer, and whatever else he could do to avoid his fate. Niko hadn't spoken much when he stopped off to pick up the Shield of Antiquity and to take one last forlorn stare at his Engineer clothes and the life he'd left behind.

And standing there, a halo of light from the window, and the sacred sword and shield on hand, Zelda could've sword that perhaps the spirit hadn't been desperate when they picked the white sheep among white sheep. Perhaps they knew what they were doing. The thought made her smile. It had taken a while, but she was happy to place the wellbeing of her country into the capable hands of this twelve-year-old boy with the eyes of an old man and a shield to match.

She wasn't half surprised when the people of Aboda Village hadn't noticed the plague that was spreading behind their village. Most of them were just continuing their daily business as usual. Alfonso had noticed – he was always a head above the rest – but wasn't panicking at all. He said Link could handle anything, and that he had belief in him. Zelda agreed, but not to that extent. She still doubted he could fend off the forces of darkness on his own without being roughed up.

But, no matter what excuses she gave, Link would do it anyway. They set off again, following the direction of the Compass of Light. Link held the instrument in one hand, and the gearbox in the other, watching the spinning hand of the compass with one eye and the road with the other. He'd be sacked if he was seen doing that! Good thing she wasn't picky about who drove her trains and saved the world at the same time, especially when he didn't demand a pay check.

As they got closer to the entrance to the Dark Realm, the Spirit Train started to speed up. Link noticed it too, and checked that he hadn't slipped to a higher speed on the gearbox. He hadn't – the train was incapable of going any faster. He swallowed and put the Compass of Light down, diverting all his attention to the portal that was erected in front of the train.

Zelda would never have guessed the entrance to hell was behind Aboda Village. The juxtaposition was hard to comprehend; the tracks were rusted and wonky and didn't sing with the same energy that the real Spirit Tracks did. The influence of the Dark Realm must've seeped through like an oil spill, and it made her feel uncomfortable. Link did too, but that was probably more to do with the fact he was on a suicide mission that the condition of the local Spirit Tracks.

The train kept picking up speed until it was going well over the speed limit, hurtling towards the entrance to the Dark Realm like it was pulling it in, along with its passenger. A ghost didn't count. The air started to get sticky the closer they got to the portal, until they finally charged through it. Zelda was appalled that the only thing she'd felt since she died was the tar of the Dark Realm on her skin before they broke through the other side.

Link was almost thrown right off the train, but his iron grip on the framework held him in place long enough to withstand the barrage of the Dark Realm. After getting his breath back he unsteadily pulled himself to his feet to have a look at his surroundings. Zelda, being outside the train, got a much better view.

They seemed to be on a set of suspended rails over a dark ocean, underneath a dark sky, and in dark moods. The skulls on spikes definitely redefined the word 'atmospheric'. She could hear Bomb Trains chugging around in the distance, though the darkness had reduced visibility to a few metres and she couldn't see them. Link would have a harder time again.

They were practically **destined** to be run off the road by them if they couldn't even see them to get out of the way.

The only light in the whole place was the headlights and a weird speck on the tracks that they were about to mow down. As they got closer, Zelda realised it was a Tear of Light, of all things. It better not get caught in the engine; it was no use to them anyhow, now that Link was bravely brandishing a sacred sword like a trophy and swinging it around like a baseball bat.

But it didn't get jammed in anything in an irreparable manner like she'd thought. It was absorbed into the engine, enveloping the whole train in a veil of light that made her eyes hurt. The light must've attracted a Bomb Train, because it thundered towards the glowing train. Zelda was all but ready to be joined by another ghost when the Spirit Train smacked into the front of the Bomb Train and drove it off the tracks into the water below.

She smiled evilly. Time for some revenge.

After discovering the Spirit Train would practically break the sound barrier if the whistle was pulled hard enough, Zelda had to get back inside for fear of being left behind in a cloud of dust and sparkles. If she hadn't known better, she would've thought Link was enjoying chasing the trains down and ruthlessly sending them to their maker. She **did** know him better than that, and he was more likely to be relieved that he wasn't going to die, than happy that he could inflict revenge upon the trains that had blighted the Spirit Tracks ever since he hobbled out of the Forest Temple with a limp.

Soon all that were left of the Bomb Trains were the rusting skeletons lingering just beneath the surface of the black ocean, occasionally puffing out a feeble stream of smoke. It was almost laughable compared to the image of raging death machines they'd instilled on the people unfortunate enough to run into them. Zelda was starting to feel more confident about this suicide run.

It didn't take long for that to change.

The lack of Bomb Trains must've twigged Cole and Malladus that they'd arrived, and they decided to show their faces. The Demon Train burst out of a malevolent green portal in a fury, taking up two sets of tracks with its massive backside. No wonder it never used the tracks in New Hyrule. It would probably fall off. That would be a funny thing to see.

The side of the car opened up as Link pulled up closer to it, a grim look in his eyes and a firm grip on the controls for the cannon. Several large and dangerous looking barrels slid down and into view, probably to be launched at the Spirit Train to force it off the tracks. Sensing the danger, Link fired at the barrels with deadly accuracy, honed after weeks of shooting down monsters trying to kill him, or rob him, or both.

Zelda felt helpless, as usual. She almost wished for the time spent into the Tower of Spirits, where she was more useful to Link than a hairdryer in his bath. Almost; until she remembered how often she'd almost separated his head from his body in a desperate attempt to get rid of the mice. She shivered.

The car on the Demon Train closed again, inciting a nervous gulp from Link and an overwhelming sense of wrongness from Zelda. An enemy didn't just stop attacking like that because they'd been smacked around a few times – she'd seen enemies stumbling around with limbs missing in an attempt to strike a fatal blow against the hero who slew them. It had to be up to something. Well, the person driving the train was, anyway.

She was right. The train let out a loud **clunk** and started to shift across the tracks to push the Spirit Train off. Link jumped and pulled the hand brake as hard as he could, sending the train screeching along the tracks in a bid to stop before the Demon Train could smash into the side and send him to his death.

He managed to halt the train just in time to let the Demon Train lurch in front and steal the tracks from them. Not wanting to find out what it had in store for them in such a compromising position, Link took the first opportunity to shift to a different track. The car again opened to reveal more barrels, which were soon on the receiving end of a few well placed cannonballs.

The car closed again, and the Demon Train shifted onto Link's tracks again. This time, he had to steer to avoid a large black flame that was on the tracks, the embodiment of malice. He ended up on the outside track, still behind the Demon Train. Zelda watched the back of the possessed train suspiciously.

They were both caught off guard when the train suddenly slammed on the brakes, stopping fast enough for the Spirit Train to crash into the back before Link could do the same. He fell over, smacking his head off the visor painfully, but didn't slip off. Zelda just felt worse at her inability to pick him back up before the Demon Train got another chance to attack. Good thing he wasn't drinking any OJ at the time.

It started forward again, with Link following it apprehensively, occasionally rubbing his fingertips against his forehead in an attempt to quell the rising migraine that had sunk its claws into his brain. He didn't hesitate to switch tracks so he was out of the evil train's way.

The car opened and displayed the last barrel for the world to see. Link missed a few times before striking it down and blowing up the explosives inside, and in turn, the car it was in. Zelda was worried about his aim. That bash to the head must've knocked something loose. The Demon Train howled in agony and vanished through another green portal. Link sped off after it. For all it was a frightening experience, she was confident that he'd see it through until the train was nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.

Turns out it had just run to another set of tracks. How uninspiring. She expected more from a possessed train, but at least they'd figured out its attack pattern. Victory was looking more likely with every second that passed.

The Demon Train – the person **driving** the Demon Train – must've figured this out too, because the next car that opened had laser cannons in it. Pity Alfonso didn't give them one of those. Still, they were no match for a well placed cannonball to the **face.** Link managed to trash two in the time it took for the Demon Train to switch tracks.

He was starting to get more confident with the fight, but not enough to become lax. The other two cannons were smashed to pieces, ruining the remaining car and sending the Demon Train fleeing in a roar of pain. Link was close on its heels, bursting onto a new set of tracks through the green portal. Considering the size and power difference, he was wiping the floor with the train. Zelda gave him a thumbs up in encouragement, which he returned.

She flinched at the sight of the spinning blades on the cabin's flank. She had a bad feeling that they were going to end up embedded in the side of the Spirit Train, or even in Link. She shook her head fiercely to force the thoughts out of her head, drawing a worried glance from Link. It was the first time he'd let his gaze leave the Demon Train, and Zelda felt empowered that he was more worried about her than the deadly train threatening his life.

His attention snapped back to the train as he pulled up to it and lasers started carving up the tracks. It sure loved its lasers. Link fired the cannon desperately to shut them off before any could shave off his head. He managed to deactivate the lasers and speed up enough to overtake the train, firing cannonballs at the face. Maybe the train **was** driving itself, if the face was capable of showing such agony when the projectiles practically broke its nose.

It must've decided that enough was enough, because a sudden burst of speed placed it in front again, and left the Spirit Train in direct line for the lasers. Link gasped and dropped to the floor in time to avoid a laser that chopped part of the cabin off. Zelda flinched out of its way by reflex, even though it wouldn't have done anything to her. She glanced at the sheared off section of train, then at Link. If it could do that to solid steel, then what could it do to flesh and bone?

He deactivated the rest of the lasers with an air of frightened urgency, before smashing the face of the train in some more. All the damage became too much for the train and it slowly petered to a stop, smoke billowing out of the engine like there was a bonfire inside. The eyes on the front of the train shut, like it was asleep. Zelda could hear footsteps coming from inside the skeleton of the train.

Link and her exchanged looks. The final battle was drawing closer.

A word with Anjean wouldn't kill them. Well, unless Cole was smart and used the opportunity to ambush them.

Not that he was smart enough to plan that.


	7. I Do Believe

I Do Believe

Looks like this is almost over. There will definitely be one more chapter for the final boss battle, and I'm not sure if I'm going to wrap it up with an epilogue. Oh, and you all voted for the warrior ending, so that's what you're getting. Just as well, really.

Just for lols, I started a left-handed playthrough. It's harder than it looks, believe me. I'm also choosing all the options so I can be the biggest **ponce** ever to be in a Zelda game. It's much more satisfying. You should try it sometime.

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_No costly sacrifice nor offerings given,  
Can change the purpose of the powers of Heaven;  
Whatever Fate ordains, danger or hurt,  
Or death predestined, nothing can avert._

Well, this was it.

It had only taken them a few weeks, maybe – they were already at the border of darkness, waving a glowing sword around and yelling. Zelda could've sworn it was only yesterday she presented Link with his Engineer Certificate and an order to save the world. Good thing he hadn't hesitated: they only got here just in time without the delay **that** would've brought.

It was almost like fate had dictated them be here...

But Zelda didn't dwell on fate. It sat beside her at every meal and slept on a pillow at the end of her bed; calling her "Your Highness" and making everyone else do the same. Link wouldn't approve of that, she could tell. He'd say that we all make our own destinies, but she'd seen the portraits of the heroes of the past and it was hard to believe that fate wasn't having an inside joke bringing the same person back again and again for round three.

Zelda didn't know about anyone else, but she was **pumped.** A bit of action was a far cry from the mundanity of the palace walls. Sure, the carpets and the food and the utter adoration of her people were nice, but she was putting sparring into her daily routine if it killed her.

She couldn't read the look on Link's face. It was oddly blank, like whatever he was feeling was a secret he would take to his grave. Not that that was going to be any time soon, of course... He was either scared and was trying to seem brave, or was itching for a fight and was trying to seem like the gentle and righteous hero that he most definitely was. Anjean had the peace of understanding on her face, and Byrne was wearing a mask, so she didn't even try with him.

Anjean and Byrne started to argue back and forth about who was going to accompany Link and her in the final battle against Malladus. Normally she would've let them argue until the cuckoos crowed but she had the funny feeling that every second Malladus spent in her body ruined her complexion more and more.

She and Link exchanged confident glances. Neither were coming with them, and that was that. Anjean simply smiled to herself, like she knew it was coming. Perhaps she did. Her connection to the spirit world was so strong she almost glowed with ethereal light. Byrne too, but his hatred, though weaker now, was poisoning his aura with a dark purple. Lokomos made no sense sometimes.

Anjean, being the extremely insightful being that she was, summoned an empty Phantom suit. The normal kind. Zelda figured it was because she had faith that she wouldn't need any special powers against the Demon King. The bond between Link and her was unbreakable. Well, unless he died, but that **wasn't** going to happen!

It just wasn't...

That light wasn't going to be snuffed out by some overconfident, overbearing king of evil. His soul had lasted centuries under the care of the Goddesses, and by his own pure will to live every moment like the sun. Zelda understood now why she'd never had a friend before fate brought them together. She had no respect for anyone, perhaps not even for herself. But now she respected Link like the hero he was.

Still, there was something plaguing her...

When he made it out – because he would – that bond would never snap between them. She wanted to be by him forever, for his sake and for hers. After all, who was going to boss him around if they were apart? Niko? Fat chance.

So she asked him. She threw caution to the wind and asked what he would become once all the ugliness was behind them. He looked at her, and looked at his sword, and she knew without him telling her. She knew without asking. Some things didn't need to be spoken for them to be known.

She would walk to her destiny with a light heart.

The only creature in sight was Cole, standing at the edge of the train, his arms behind his back and his face to the void of darkness. She tried to tell him that it was over, hinting at him to flee. For all the trouble he'd caused the two, all the cuts and bruises he'd indirectly inflicted on Link, she was still prepared to be merciful and spare him.

He chose to laugh in her face, and her mercy ended.

The Demon Train, not quite dead yet, forced itself to start moving down the tracks again. She could feel the strain through the metal casing – they'd done more damage than it could cope with. Zelda doubted it could stop if it ran into something. They would just have to end this before that happened. Easier said than done, though she could say that about every aspect of her life with a straight face.

Cole was joined by Malladus, who had become fully accustomed to his new body. **Her** body. Well, not for long. She was gonna kick his butt so hard she'd knock his spirit out without the help of the Lokomo Sword! She could feel the waves of pure malevolence cascading down the train and over her armoured body. Guess he wasn't called the Demon King for nothing.

She moved in front of Link to protect him. She had steel to shield her from the monster's aura, but he didn't, and she wasn't going to risk him so early on in the fight. They moved as one, pushing forward towards the front of the train, and towards Malladus, who stood in stony silence waiting for them.

Of course, there was still the maggot that was Cole to worry about, especially when he warped right in front of her and created mice out of electricity. Mice on their own were bad enough, but now they were deadly! Link's sword took care of them, but in the time he took to deal with the threats Cole had managed to lasso her limbs and control her like a puppet.

Link hadn't noticed that she was being forced to advance on him, as he was still concerned with destroying the mice. Zelda shouted for him to get away before bringing her sword down into the place where he'd been a moment before. Resourceful as ever, he pulled out the boomerang and snapped the strings that Cole had bound her with, forcing him to retreat if he didn't want to be hit across the face.

Zelda barked her thanks at him before continuing to push forward. There was no time to check that he wasn't hurt when the situation commanded so much concentration, and she **knew** that Link couldn't concentrate long enough to make up his mind. She bit back the urge to flinch and curl up on herself when another round of mice were summoned, trusting Link to take care of them before they could get close to her lumbering form.

They were getting closer to Malladus, and he knew it. She locked eyes with the creature that was in her body for a moment before he attacked. Instinctively raising her shield against whatever ungodly force he had thrown at her, she almost stumbled as a highly concentrated laser tried to slice through the shield and through her.

She gritted her teeth and bore the weight of the laser while Link got as close to her back as possible, so Malladus wouldn't have the opportunity to shear his arm off instead. She dug her heels into the metal of the train and struggled forward at a fraction of her normal speed. She could hear the twang of Link's bow behind her as he took out the mice before they could stun either of them. She hoped he managed to put an arrow in Cole's forehead while he was at it.

Zelda winced as the train started to rumble beneath her feet. Not wanting to take any chances, she stopped and braced herself for whatever was coming. The resulting jolt almost knocked her over when the sections of the train split off in separate directions. It was hard to deflect the laser when she couldn't even stand up straight. She took her time getting to her feet. It was more important that they not get hurt than it was to attack Malladus. She cared about Link more than that.

Of course, she didn't want to take any hits herself, either.

The closer she got to Malladus the harder it was to make her legs move. She could see the Demon King struggling under the force of the laser too. The splash damage must have been burning his arms. She'd have to get a healer to look at them once they were **her** arms again. Eventually the strain must have become too much on Malladus, because he cancelled the laser and tried to step back so he could cast another spell.

Zelda didn't give him the chance. As soon as the opening was created she wrapped her arms around Malladus and clung on tightly. She hadn't noticed how frail her body was compared to the lumbering weight of the Phantom she was possessing. Malladus was stronger than his body let on, though, and he managed to pull both him and Zelda into the air, flailing around to try and shake her off.

She tried to use her weight to force him to face the train, where she knew Link's Bow of Light would be armed and waiting. She felt, more than saw, two arrows go sailing past them as they performed the deadly dance in the air together, and felt, more than saw, the third arrow hit its mark and embed itself in Malladus' chest.

The light from the arrow quickly engulfed the Demon King, and stung the edges of her soul too. She couldn't let go, unless she wanted to fall into a perpetual chasm of death, so tried to ignore the pain from the arrow until they were back over the train. Luckily for her, the light was already eating into Malladus' strength and he wasn't able to support them both in the air for any longer. He instead chose to land on the train, still trying to break free of Zelda's chokehold so he could pull the arrow out.

The light was unbearable, and Zelda had to close her eyes so she didn't go blind. She urged Link to get away before anything could happen to him, but he didn't listen; not that she expected him too. He ran up to the two of them and forced his own arms around Malladus' arms, pinning them to his sides so he couldn't move.

She felt the train quake beneath them and start sinking into the darkness. If she was going to die here, then she was taking Malladus with her in the name of New Hyrule. Except, they didn't plummet with the locomotive – Cole used a spell to transport the four of them away. She could only hope that Anjean and Byrne he managed to do the same. If they had perished in that fight, she would never forgive herself.

When the light faded she was pressed face first against the ground. She couldn't feel the wind or the earth, so she figured she'd lost the Phantom. Typical. The first thing that caught her eye when she looked up was Link, spread eagled a few yard away. He wasn't moving.

With a cry of terror she soared towards him, trying to shake him awake, but slipped through his shoulders. She started screaming at him to get up, feeling the evil that was Malladus still in existence. He **couldn't **die! He wasn't going to! She tried to slap him awake, but her hand glided straight through him and out the other side.

Never before had she felt so utterly helpless.

He stirred in his sleep. She almost didn't allow herself to dare that he was OK, but he defied all odds and woke up, trying to get to his feet. He crumpled back down, moaning in pain, clutching his ribs. They were broken... No, they weren't. He was fine. He was **fine.**

She tore her eyes away from the fallen hero beside her and looked towards the ball of red energy floating against the sun. Malladus was still alive, just very badly weakened. Anjean had said the Bow of Light would force the Demon King to leave her body so Link could slay him, but it hadn't. He was still hanging on by his fingertips.

But, slowly, his grip started to slip.

The specks of red energy began to grow and spread out, forming a silhouette behind her body, like a red mist. A blue soup seeped out of her back and condensed, revealing Malladus' true form: a giant blue skull. Zelda felt some of her confidence beginning to grow back. It was hard to be frightened of something that looked so... lame. And clichéd.

Before the skull had a chance to weave any more dark magic, she threw herself at her body, still suspended in the air like she was sleeping. Zelda could almost **taste** the fresh air again – could almost **feel** her dress against her skin. Oh, how it would feel to be alive!

She passed straight through.

Yes, there was a tug, like something had snagged, but it hadn't been strong enough to allow her to take her body back. In desperation she flung herself again, receiving the same result. The lump in her throat was growing quickly, and the fact that Malladus was trying to possess her again wasn't helping. She saw the Demon King rush at her and gave up all hope, but something was holding him back.

Something Byrne-y.

After all that had happened, he was holding Malladus back. Well, that would've been useful earlier, but she wasn't complaining now! Clasping her hands together, she felt for the power that rested inside of her. The power that her great-whatever-grandmother Tetra had given to her without her knowing it.

The Triforce of Wisdom?

Or just love?

An image appeared in her mind. A girl with a sword and wearing **pants,** of all things, and a piece of the Triforce around her neck. She smirked confidently and held the sword out to Zelda, offering her the handle. Offering her the chance to seize victory for herself.

She smiled and took it.

She was falling. **Fast.** The feel of the air swirling around her was almost enough to make her forget that the ground wouldn't soften her blow, but she fell into something a lot softer. Something that yelled. But forget about that! She could taste, and feel, and smell, and her heart was beating inside her chest, and each breath hurt but she was taking them all anyway!

She was alive.

'Bout time.

She threw her arms around the squirming cushion that was her best friend, laughing and burying her face into his shoulder, marvelling at the feeling. She never thought she would miss being in pain so much. Speaking of pain, a tormented cry of agony broke the slightly awkward air. Byrne was surrounded by an aura of black electricity. She didn't know if it was Cole who was doing it, or Malladus.

He turned to her, and his mask crinkled at the edges.

Was he... smiling?

Then she understood why. The force of the attack was too much for him to handle, and his body disintegrated under the pressure. He was gone.

And after all he'd been through... If fate did exist, then it wasn't fair.

On the other hand, if fate was the one making sure Cole didn't notice Malladus gliding towards him with a murderous look in his eye, then perhaps it was on their side after all.

In a blink of an eye, Malladus devoured the irritating demon before he could even cry for mercy. But it wasn't because all the butt-kicking he'd endured had made him peckish, oh no. It was because he couldn't carry out his evil plans if he was a floating skull. Maybe he also thought he looked lame.

...

No, wait, he still did.

Zelda could still see the resemblance on the face of the beast which was the combined forms of the two demons, and it made her sick. Just when she was hoping she'd seen the last of him. But she could feel what Malladus knew, but was trying to ignore. Cole's body wasn't strong enough to support his massive spirit. Only her own would allow him to be fully reborn. He was slipping.

But it was doubtful he was going to let that stop him from taking over.


	8. And Victory Was All Around

And Victory Was All Around

One more chapter left. This is why I enjoyed Spirit Tracks more than Phantom Hourglass – the bonds of friendship are so strong. Then again, Phantom Hourglass has Linebeck in it, so…

I don't own The Legend of Zelda, savvy? On with the story!

* * *

_Days seem to pass, before long its years,  
While I've been contemplating Life's hopes and Life's fears.  
Watching and waiting, just looking on,  
before I knew it, my __whole life__ had gone._

I awoke from Life's dream, and now here I stand,  
Looking back at my life with God at my hand.  
I learned about life and the meaning of love,  
amidst tears of pain, but was that enough?

So.

It wasn't going to end, was it? All the fighting, and the pain. What were the spirits of good thinking anyway, sealing Malladus inside the Tower of Spirits? If they'd just killed him like would be sensible, then the threat of the Demon King would have been destroyed forever. Instead, it was up to two children to do it instead.

Zelda got the suspicious feeling this had all happened several times before.

There was no way they could lose now. She'd had enough experience of being dead to know that she didn't want her subjects to suffer the same fate before their time. Most princesses would've already fled their kingdoms, but she was standing on the frontline. Tetra would've approved, and that was enough for her.

Time to put this sacred power to some good use!

Seeing as she didn't have a holy sword or enough courage to poke the manifestation of darkness with one, she would have to leave herself at the mercy of Link. Not that she had any worries about that. She'd seen him hit monsters from one hundred yards on a moving train.

Zelda closed her eyes and tried to block out the sound of the monster growling behind her. She instead focused deeply on her breathing and the sound of her heart beating. There was something else to add to her daily routine: meditating.

If she concentrated hard enough she could feel a speck of something inside her. Something that had no shape, and probably didn't even exist on the plane of existence she was in. Geez, getting this to work was a lot easier when she was dead.

She flinched at the sound of metal on rock and clasped her hands together to stop them shaking.

She was having a hard time hearing anything besides her own body. Was it really that loud? Did her blood really roar like that, or her joints creak like that, or her breathing sound so hoarse? Link's inability to concentrate must've rubbed off on her.

She could hear him gasping behind her.

It was a wonder he was still on his feet. One hundred Rupees says he had a concussion. And broken ribs. And that ankle didn't look too good either.

Well damn...

No: **focus! **The sooner she mustered up the power to end Malladus, the sooner she could get him some medical attention. She returned to her steady breathing, this time more determined than ever to reach the power inside of her.

...

...

**There.**

It was there. A little kernel of light in between her collar bones. Now all she had to do was expand it until she could chuck it at the Demon King or something like that, and she could go home and bathe. Zelda had the sneaky suspicion that Malladus hadn't bothered, and that she now stank. She definitely needed a comb through her hair, if nothing else.

Now she was just getting off track.

Those rocks were being fired faster. Zelda couldn't help but wonder why Malladus hadn't just eaten them both. He obviously had a taste for flesh, if Cole was anything to go by. Not that she was complaining. She'd take the easily blocked boulders over instant death any day.

**Argh.**

OK, no more playing around. She could feel the light growing in her voice box. It was almost like she would be able to destroy the darkness just by speaking. But what to say to something that only existed in nightmares? How's the wife? Perhaps she could just pour water on him and he'd melt like in that one movie.

Ah... There we go.

The light was blooming inside of her, extending its arms to outside her body. She opened her eyes and saw that she was glowing bright gold. Like the Triforce. The legends really weren't kidding about their power. She wondered if any Zelda's before her had done this; she wouldn't have been surprised if the Zelda that existed alongside the Hero of Time had. She was a legend in her own right.

She would have to do the name justice.

It was time for one last song, though this time she would be part of it, instead of a lucky bystander. She sang the first song that came into her head – the melody to the national anthem of New Hyrule. Link's Spirit Flute – for it now belonged more to him than her – quickly joined the patriotic symphony. It was a display of the strength of New Hyrule; not just of its armies, but of the hundreds of civilians that called it home.

She could hear the Lokomos joining in. The power within Zelda must've allowed it to travel further than she would ever have hoped. The music rose to a crescendo until she couldn't hear anything but the sound of her own voice and the medley of instruments accompanying her.

Malladus must've felt the same, but it wasn't as pleasant for him as it was for her. He let out a monstrous roar, rearing onto his back legs and smashing to the ground in an attempt to stop the music. He was too late – the power of the song had already weakened him enough to reveal a blind spot: his back, of all places. How clichéd. At least it wasn't his eye.

Hmm…

Seeing as Link was the bigger threat (not that Zelda was anything to sniff at), Malladus would be most concerned with grating his face against the floor. That meant Zelda would have the chance for a surprise attack, if she was armed. Which she **would** be. Heavily, if she had anything to say about it.

The effort of piercing through Malladus' armour had drained the light from her. She felt like she needed a good hibernate, but Link was probably worse, and she didn't see him complaining! She took the Bow of Light from him and notched an arrow into it.

He understood.

Time to kick some serious butt.

Link backed off, avoiding the flailing limbs of Malladus. He kept the attention of the beast as he circled its girth. In his bloodlust, the Demon King soon completely forgot that the princess even **existed.** His fists smashed into the earth, mere inches from Link's tiny body. She winced at the impacts, but soon noticed that he'd managed to turn Malladus around.

She had a clear view of his weak spot from here – a mass of glowing patterns like an ethereal bull's eye. She smirked and drew back the arrow until it couldn't stretch any more. Closing one eye she aimed at the target and released the arrow.

It buried itself deep into the monster's back, making him squeal with pain. The light arrow spread its poison into the monster's body, eroding the darkness that gave it form. A few of those and he'd be too weak to hold a solid form.

Unfortunately, he now remembered the little gnat that was the princess.

He turned back to Zelda, ready to swipe her face off, when Link jumped back in and slashed at his front legs with the Lokomo Sword. It barely registered as a splinter, but it was enough to make him forget her long enough for her to arm herself.

She gulped and hardened her stance. That was too close.

Malladus might have been weakened, but it only made him more desperate. His blows came faster and harder, and Link barely managed to avoid being hit. Zelda felt like she would blink and he would be a red splatter on the ground, and then there would only be her and the Demon King, and she wasn't putting any Rupees on her winning.

She fired the arrow faster, hoping to take away some of the pressure from her battle partner. She missed the first time, the wasted light arrow soaring gracefully through the air and impaling itself into the ground some distance away like a certain fantasy RPG that will not be mentioned. She managed to nock and fire another arrow before Link was killed, though.

Archery… her daily routine was quickly growing. Less time for the snobby nobles and paper pushing, she supposed.

This time she had to actually run away to avoid a well-placed horn crashing into the Earth where she had been standing a few seconds earlier. She tripped and dropped the Bow of Light, which skidded to a halt a few feet away. She turned to see the grinning face of Malladus looking over her, ready to devour her soul…

And he was smacked in the face by a boomerang.

Thank God for the Snow Temple. The projectile didn't even make Malladus flinch but it did confuse him for long enough that Zelda could jump to her feet and grab the Bow of Light. Now it was just getting behind him…

She tried to psych him out, running one way then quickly running the other. It didn't work; he was so massive that she couldn't run around him fast enough for her to remain undetected. Link joined her side, poised to attack. It was a waiting game, neither side ready to move until the other had and, therefore, left themselves open for attack.

Zelda gulped.

Link sweated.

Malladus stared.

Link attacked.

He moved quickly to the right, strafing around the monster before jabbing his leg with the Lokomo Sword, even though he should've know it wouldn't work! Malladus only swatted him out of the way, sending him rolling across the ground until he reached a halt.

It gave Zelda just enough time to deal the final blow.

Typical Link, really. He'd attacked, knowing he would draw the attention away from Zelda for long enough to quell the beast. He'd offered himself as a sacrifice for the assured safety of his country.

A hero in body and soul.

The Hero of Winds would be very proud.

The light became too much for Malladus and he passed out. The jewel on his forehead started glowing with a brilliant red light. Link picked himself up in time to smash at the shimmering gem, breaking the Demon King's horns off with a sickening crack. The shock was enough to force Malladus back into consciousness.

He wasn't best pleased.

He used the close quarters to smash his head against Link's form – the Lokomo Sword managed to halt the attack. The tip of the sword threatened to pierce the ruby and worm its way into the monster's skull, but that didn't put off Malladus. He obviously had belief that Link would crack before he would. He was probably right.

Zelda dropped the Bow of Light and sprinted towards Link as fast as her kitten heels would let her. She joined the hero as his right side and wrapped her hands around the encrusted hilt of the sword, using her own strength to help support the giant beast that was bearing down on them. Goddesses, that thing was heavy!

The harder Malladus pressed, the more cracks appeared in the gem; but the closer Link and Zelda came to losing their grip. The Demon King had nothing to lose, and it made him even more dangerous. Link had his feet spread to take the weight, and his knuckles were going white. Zelda would like to have thought she was making a difference, but she wasn't particularly strong or heavy. She would've crossed her fingers for good luck, but her hands were kind of busy.

Link's feet slipped on the ground and the two were almost forced to their knees. Zelda squeezed her eyes shut with the strain. She could almost hear Malladus laughing at them, his victory imminent. She adjusted her grip on the handle and stood with Link, forcing the sword through the crystal and into Malladus' skull with a cry.

The three figures stood frozen, poised in the moment that the Lokomo Sword embedded itself within the Demon King. Slowly, Link and Zelda let their grip loosen as Malladus reared back in defeat, the sword still stuck in his forehead. The roars of pain let loose from the fallen beast made Zelda's ears pop. The light that had been building up inside him from the Light Arrows started to burst out of his skin like spears.

The ground began to rumble, the light becoming brighter and more painful to look at. Malladus' form quickly became lost within the explosion as Zelda covered her face with her arms. She could almost feel her skin melting with the heat.

She might have passed out at some point, because when she opened her eyes the thunderous sky had cleared to give way to a red sunset. All that was left of Malladus was a dusty purple powder on the ground and the faint smell of sulphur.

It was over.

Zelda was overcome with the urge to lie down and sleep until winter, but her duties were probably back on her to-do list now that she had a pulse. Pulse… living…

Byrne!

Anjean had reappeared behind her, a serene expression on her face, like she knew something they didn't. Zelda had tried to apologise to the Lokomo sage, but she got the feeling that no amount of apologies could relieve the mountain of guilt she felt. She'd never been directly responsible for anyone's death before – it was an experience she'd narrowly avoided with Link, and she didn't want to ever feel it again.

But Anjean really **did** know more than she let on, and explained that he wasn't completely dead. While his body had been lost, his spirit would wallow around in the spirit world for a few years before popping out of some woman with a head full of hair and an appetite to match Zelda's father. She got the suspicious feeling that her and Link had been through that all before.

Anjean said she was going to return to the heavens with Byrne. Zelda was tempted to ask her not to, but she was going to respect her wishes, along with the other Lokomos, who would probably all vanish too now that Malladus was gone forever. Along with the sword. Hopefully not the train.

She rose gracefully out of her carriage and ascended towards the heavens, turning into a ball of light and flying out of view. Zelda could faintly smell lavender on the wind, and it made her smile mournfully. Never had such a moment been so happy and yet so sad before.

She slipped her fingers between Links' and squeezed. She could practically feel him blushing as the touch. He'd never been one to talk, but this time words weren't even needed.

And victory was all around.


End file.
